Apparatus and method for controlling the temperature of manufacturing equipment

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for zone controlling the temperature of a rotating roll. The apparatus includes a roll having a surface at a first temperature and a belt disposed adjacent at least a portion of the surface of the roll. The belt contacts the roll surface in a contact region and has a second temperature that is different from the first temperature of the roll such that the belt affects a temperature change in at least a portion of the surface of the roll in the contact region as the roll is rotated.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a divisional of copending U.S. applicationSer. No. 10/047,355, filed Jan. 14, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to processes and equipment forcontrolling and/or adjusting the temperature of equipment used in themanufacture of a film, web or other articles that are typicallymanufactured in a high speed, continuous manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] During manufacturing processes, and more typically during highspeed manufacturing processes, rolls and/or belts are often used toguide articles or materials and/or to perform certain operations thatcan affect the properties of the materials or articles beingmanufactured. For example, rolls and/or belts may be used to calender,emboss, heat, cool, tension, direct, apply glue, ink or othersubstances, etc. to materials or articles during manufacturing orconverting processes. Typically, when rolls or belts are used inconjunction with the manufacture or converting of materials or articlesin a continuous process, the material or article is in contact with theroll throughout only a portion of the roll's rotation or the beltthrough only a portion of its path. For certain operations, it may bedesirable for the material or articles being processed to reach ormaintain a certain temperature range while in contact the roll throughone portion of its rotation (or in the use of a belt, a portion of itspath) and a different temperature when in contact with the roll througha different portion of its rotation. Alternatively, it may be desirablefor one or more of the rolls and/or belts to be heated or cooled to acertain temperature range through a certain portion of its rotation orpath and heated or cooled to another temperature range along a differentportion of its rotation or path. However, controlling the temperature ofthe material being processed or the rolls and/or belts themselves can bevery complicated and costly and is very difficult to achieve withcurrent technology, especially at high speeds.

[0004] Current techniques for cooling rolls used during manufactureinclude passing fluid through the roll to control the temperature of theroll, applying air, steam or water to the circumference of the roll andcontacting an idler roll to the manufacturing roll to add or remove heatfrom the surface of the manufacturing roll. Examples of such methods aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,554 issued to McIntyre; U.S. Pat. No.5,058,496 issued to Wittkopf; U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,975 issued toGinzburg; U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,411 issued to Scheil and U.S. Pat. No.6,256,903 issued to Rudd. However, techniques focusing on convectivecooling has significant shortcomings in that it cannot transfer heat asefficiently as conduction, thereby limiting production rates. Further,the use of fugitive fluid for heating or cooling is often undesirabledue to the inherent recovery and hygiene difficulties. With respect tothe use of a roll contacting another roll to provide heat exchange, suchmethods are relatively inefficient because duration of the heating orcooling of the circumference of the roll being heated or cooled islimited by the nip between the rolls. The present invention overcomesthese disadvantages by providing the capability to conductively chill agreater portion of a roll's surface. Furthermore, this inventionprovides the capability to provide supplemental vaccuum forces to assistin the removal of the web/adhesive structure from the roll's surfacecoincident with the temperature reduction.

[0005] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a cost effectivemethod and/or apparatus for controlling the surface temperature of abelt as it moves along its path. It would also be desirable to provide acost effective method and/or apparatus for controlling the surfacetemperature of a roll as it rotates about its axis. Further, it would bedesirable to provide an apparatus and/or method of controlling thetemperature of a material and/or article being manufactured or convertedusing a roll or belt, wherein the temperature of the material and/orarticle is controlled while passing through a given portion of theroll's rotation about its axis or the belt's movement along its path.Further, it would be desirable to have an apparatus and/or method ofproviding zone temperature control of a roll or belt or a material beingprocessed in an operation employing rolls or belts that can be used withor in place of current roll or belt technology. It would also bedesirable to provide an improved process and apparatus for providingzone temperature control of a roll, belt or a material being processedin an operation employing rolls or belts that can be employed at highspeeds and/or in continuous operations.

[0006] All documents cited herein are, in relevant part, incorporatedherein by reference. The citation of any document is not to be construedas an admission that it is prior art with respect to the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The method and apparatus of the present invention provide aunique solution to the problems of the prior art by using a belt tomodify the temperature of a manufacturing roll. For example, the methodand apparatus of the present invention may be used to zone control thetemperature of a rotating roll. In one embodiment, the apparatus mayinclude a roll having a surface at a first temperature, the roll capableof rotating about an axis; and a belt disposed adjacent at least aportion of the surface of the roll and contacting the surface of theroll in a contact region, the belt having a second temperature that isdifferent from the first temperature, wherein the belt affects atemperature change in at least a portion of the surface of the roll inthe contact region as the roll is rotated.

[0008] One method for zone controlling the temperature of a rotatingroll according to the present invention includes the following steps:(a) providing a roll having an axis and a surface at a firsttemperature; (b) providing a belt disposed adjacent at least a portionof the surface of the roll; (c) heating or cooling the belt to a secondtemperature that is different from the first temperature; (d) directlyor indirectly contacting the belt with the surface of the roll in acontact region, (e) rotating the roll while in contact with the beltsuch that the belt affects a temperature change in at least a portion ofthe surface of the roll in the contact region as the roll is rotated.

[0009] Alternative methods and apparatuses to perform the methods arecontemplated and described in more detail in the following sections ofthis specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] While the specification concludes with claims which particularlypoint out and distinctly claim the present invention, it is believedthat the present invention will be better understood from the followingdescription of preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identifyidentical elements and wherein:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of theapparatus according to the present invention; and

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an alternative embodiment ofthe apparatus according to the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus forcontrolling and/or adjusting the temperature of equipment, such as rollsand/or belts, used in the manufacture of a film, web or other articlesthat are typically manufactured in a high speed, continuous manner.However, it should be understood that the method and apparatus of thepresent invention may also be applicable to non-continuous manufacturingprocesses and apparatuses that are used therein as well as processes andequipment that do not operate at high speeds.

[0016] It is well known in the art that during manufacturing processes,and more typically during high speed manufacturing processes, rolls (orrollers) and/or belts are often used to guide articles or materialsand/or to perform certain operations that can affect the properties ofthe materials or articles being manufactured. As used herein, the terms“roll”, “rolls”, “roller” or “rollers” refer to generally cylindricallyshaped devices that are configured to rotate about an axis. Such rollsor rollers typically provide a surface against which the article ormaterial being processed will be directed for at least some period oftime. In continuous processes, the material or article being processedis generally disposed against the surface of the rolls for only aportion of the roll's rotation before the material or article is removedfrom contact with the surface of the roll and directed to anotherapparatus or processing step. As used herein, the terms “belt” or“belts” refer to a continuous band of material configured to move in apredetermined path. Such belts typically provide a surface against whichthe article or material being processed will be directed for at leastsome period of time. In continuous processes, the material or articlebeing processed is generally disposed against the surface of the beltsfor only a portion of the belt's rotation before the material or articleis removed from contact with the surface of the belt and directed toanother apparatus or processing step (in order to simplify thedisclosure of the present invention and to reduce repetition, thefollowing discussion will generally be directed to the use of rolls forproviding the working surface of the apparatus, however, it should beunderstood that belts and other equipment can be used and that theapparatus and method of the present invention is intended to includesuch alternatives, without limitation). As noted above, rolls are usedfor many purposes during typical manufacturing processes, including, butnot limited to calendering, embossing, heating, cooling, tensioning,directing, and applying glue, ink or other substances to the materialsor articles being processed. For certain operations, it may be desirablefor the material or articles being processed to reach or maintain acertain temperature range while in contact with the roll through oneportion of its rotation and a different temperature when in contact withthe roll through a different portion of its rotation. Alternatively, itmay be desirable for one or more of the rolls to be heated or cooled toa certain temperature range through a certain portion of its rotationand heated or cooled to another temperature range along a differentportion of its rotation. However, providing zone controlled temperatureof the material being processed or the rolls themselves is verydifficult to achieve with conventional technology, especially at highspeeds. Accordingly, it has been discovered that a relativelyinexpensive apparatus and method can be used to provide such zonetemperature control for materials and/or articles that are processedusing one or more rolls.

[0017]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one relatively simpleembodiment of the apparatus and method according to the presentinvention. As shown in the figure, web 15 is passed over a roll, in thiscase roll 30. In this embodiment, the web 15 is moving continuously fromthe lower left-hand corner of the figure to the upper right-hand cornerof the figure as it is processed.

[0018] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the web 15 is contacted withthe surface 32 of the roll 30. (It should be understood that the phrase“in contact” as used herein, refers to direct or indirect contactbetween two surfaces, materials or articles. Thus, a web is consideredin contact with a roll when directly touching the surface of the roll,as well as when the web is not directly touching the surface of theroll, but is touching a material that is in turn directly touching theroll. Further, a belt or roll is deemed to be in contact with anotherbelt, roll or other piece of equipment if it is in direct contact or ifit is in contact with a web or article which is in turn in contact withthe other piece of equipment.) After the web is placed in contact withthe surface 32 of the roll 30, the web 15 moves with the roll 30throughout a portion of the roll's rotation about its axis 34. Thus, theweb 15 is wrapped around a portion of the roll 30 defined by a contactangle 120. Prior to being removed from the surface 32 of the roll 30,the web 15 is passed between the roll 30 and a temperature modifyingapparatus 12, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0019] The temperature modifying apparatus 12, shown in FIG. 1, includesa belt 70 that rotates continuously about rolls 50 and 60 havingsurfaces 52 and 62 and axes 54 and 64, respectively. The temperaturemodifying apparatus 12 is preferably positioned adjacent the surface ofa roll, such the surface 32 of roll 30, used in the manufacture,converting or other processing of a particular material or article.Preferably, the rolls 50 and 60 of the temperature modifying apparatus12 are disposed such that the belt 70 is in contact with the workingsurface 32 of the manufacturing roll 30 for at least a portion of thecircumference of the manufacturing roll's 30 surface 32. As shown inFIG. 1, the belt contact region C is located between the point A atwhich the belt 70 first contacts the roll 30 and the point B at whichthe belt 70 last contacts the roll 30 during normal operation of theapparatus. The contact region C can also be described in terms of theangle between a pair of lines 100 and 110 extending radially from theaxis 34 of the manufacturing roll 30 through the points A and B,respectively. One benefit of the apparatus of the present invention isthat the contact region C can be greater than a typical nip between twocontacting rolls. In certain embodiments, it may be preferred that thecontact region C be at least about 5 degrees of the surface of the roll32. In other embodiments, the contact region C may be at least about 10degrees of the surface of the roll 32 or may be at least about 15degrees of the surface of the roll 32. Accordingly, the use of a belt 70in the temperature modifying apparatus 12 of the present invention mayprovide for more effective and/or efficient heat transfer as opposed tosimply contacting two rolls of different temperatures.

[0020] The contact angle 120, and thus, the contact region C, can beincreased or decreased by moving the belt 70 toward or away from theaxis 34 of the manufacturing roll 30. Alternatively, the contact angle120 can be increased or decreased by adjusting the distance between therolls 50 and 60 that hold the belt 70 against the surface 32 of themanufacturing roll 30. This type of adjustment is one useful way toincrease or decrease the amount of temperature adjustment that can bemade using the apparatus 12 of the present invention. These and otheradjustment means could be especially useful at start up of the machineto compensate for temperature changes as temperatures are reachingequilibrium. The adjustment may also be useful to compensate forintentional changes in line speed.

[0021] As the web 15 passes between the manufacturing roll 30 and thebelt 70, the belt 70 can heat or cool the web 15 and/or the surface 32of the manufacturing roll 30. For example, if the manufacturing roll 30is running at ambient temperature, the belt 70 can be heated above theambient temperature or cooled to a temperature below the ambienttemperature such that as the belt 70 passes through the contact regionC, the belt 70 heats or cools the web 15 and/or the surface 32 of themanufacturing roll 30. In other embodiments, the manufacturing roll 30may be heated or cooled to provide a temperature differential betweenthe belt 70 and the roll 30. In certain embodiments, it may be preferredthat the difference between the temperature of the belt and thetemperature of the surface of the roll 30 be at least about 50° F.(about 28° C.) or greater than about 60° F. (about 34° C.), althoughother temperature differences may be desirable for different uses. Inany case, the method and apparatus of the present invention provide aneffective means for controlling the temperature of a particular regionof the surface of a manufacturing roll 30 or a material that is placedin contact with such a roll during processing.

[0022] The belt 70 can be of any size, style and can be made of anysuitable materials for the desired processing step in which the belt isutilized. In certain preferred embodiments, the belt 70 may be made frommetal, rubber, polymeric resins (e.g. Nylon) or a combination ofmaterials. Metal belts may be desirable due to their strength and heatcapacity. Suitable metals for use in the belt considering heatproperties and cost are, for example, steel (generally having a heatcapacity or specific heat of about 0.12 cal/gm ^(o)C), Aluminum(generally having a heat capacity of about 0.2 cal/gm ^(o)C), stainlesssteel (generally having a heat capacity of about 0.103 cal/gm ^(o)C),and alloys of these and other metals or combinations thereof (generallyhaving a heat capacity in the range of about 0.10 to about 0.23 cal/gm^(o)C). Alternatively, the belt may be made from a polymer that isreinforced with and/or filled with high heat capacity materials.Suitable high heat capacity low cost mineral fillers may include, forexample, alumina (having a heat capacity of about 0.2 cal/gm ^(o)C),limestone (having a heat capacity of about 0.217 cal/gm ^(o)C), silica(having a heat capacity of about 0.316 cal/gm ^(o)C), gypsum (having aheat capacity of about 0.259 cal/gm ^(o)C), and most metals or metaloxides in powder or filament form or combinations thereof. In certainpreferred embodiments, where the belt includes a filler material, thefiller may have a heat capacity or specific heat of at least about 0.09cal/gm ^(o)C. In other embodiments, the heat capacity of the filler maybe at least about 0.15 cal/gm ^(o)C or at least about 0.20 cal/gm ^(o)C.

[0023] The belt 70 can be impermeable or permeable of have regions ofdiffering permeability. One advantage of a permeable or semi-permeablebelt is that air, water or other fluids can be passed through the belt70 as a means to transfer heat to or from the belt 70. Further, apermeable belt can provide openings through which a vacuum can beprovided to help remove the material or article being manufactured fromthe manufacturing roll 30. Perforated metal belts and metal screens aregenerally suitable for use with the present invention. An advantage ofmetal screens is that they can be configured to have different strandsmade of different materials. Thus, for example, it may be desirable toprovide relatively strong strands in the machine direction andrelatively high heat capacity strands in the cross machine direction, orvice versa.

[0024] The belt 70 can be generally flat or may have some structure. Thebelt 70 may also be used to provide some properties to the article orweb being manufactured, such as a three-dimensional structure, or may beused to add or remove materials from the web (e.g. printing, addingadhesive, etc.). Further, the belt 70 may be of any suitable width.Accordingly, the belt 70 can be the same width as the manufacturing roll30 or the web 15, or can be larger or smaller than either. If the belt70 is smaller in width than the web 15 or manufacturing roll 30, theheating or cooling effects of the belt 70 can be directed to only aportion of web 15 or roll, if so desired. Alternatively, only a portionof the belt 70 may be heated or cooled to give a similar effect. In yetanother embodiment, two or more belts may be used and can be spacedapart and/or made from different materials. In any case, suchembodiments may provide for zone heating or cooling of the roll 30 orweb 15 in the cross-machine direction. Alternatively, for machinedirectional control of heating or cooling, the belt 70 may beintermittently heated or cooled or may be made from materials thatproduce or retain different amounts of heat energy. Thus, intermittentor continuous patterns of heating or cooling can be achieved in both themachine and cross-machine directions, if desired.

[0025] The rolls, including the manufacturing rolls 20, 30 and 40, aswell as the belt rolls 50 and 60 can be of any size and be made of anysuitable material. In many known processes, for example, in themanufacture of paper products, films and nonwoven materials, rolls areoften made of metal to prolong their life. However, the rolls may bemade from or coated with materials such as rubber, synthetic rubber,polymers, plastic, wood, ceramics, glass or any other material suitablefor the particular use desired. Further, all or a portion of the surfaceof any of the rolls may be covered or coated with materials that alteror otherwise provide some benefit to the roll for its intended use. Forexample, steel rolls are often coated with Teflon, silicone, rubber,synthetic rubber or other polymers to alter the characteristics of thesurface of the roll.

[0026] The roll or rolls may be solid or hollow and may be rotated byany known means, including, but not limited to electric motors, belts,gears, etc. In certain embodiments, the roll or rolls are not activelyrotated by a source dedicated to the rotation of the rolls, but arerotated due to contact with other rolls that are rotating or belts thatare in contact with a portion of the roll's surface. In otherembodiments, the material or article being processed provides the meansfor rotating one or more of the rolls. Any of the rolls can be heated orcooled internally or externally and the surface of the rolls can take onany desired configuration. In some embodiments, the surface of the rollsmay be smooth, while in other embodiments, the surface of at least someof the rolls may have raised or depressed regions. The surface of therolls may be continuous or may include any number of openings orpassages in their surface or body for any desired purpose. Thus, forexample, the surface of a roll may be entirely or partially screen-like,having a number of openings through which air can pass. In yet otherembodiments, the cross-section of the roll may not be circular, but maytake on any suitable shape such as an oval, an octagon or an irregularshape including any number of curves or linear portions.

[0027] The temperature modifying apparatus 12 may also include a meansor device for controlling the temperature of the belt 70. The belttemperature control device can use any known means for heating orcooling a surface or structure, including, but not limited to heatexchangers or other heating or cooling devices that use hot or cool air,radiant heating, friction, evaporation, light, magnetism, radio waves,microwaves, laser light, refrigeration, or any combination of these andother heating and cooling methods. In one embodiment, the rolls 50and/or 60 may be cooled or heated to cool or heat the belt 70. Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the temperature modifyingapparatus 12 may include a vacuum plenum 75. The vacuum plenum 75 pullsair across the belt 70 to cool or heat the belt 70 as it rotates. Inother embodiments, the vacuum plenum 75 may include a heating element ora cooling element to further heat or cool the air before it passes overthe belt 70. Further, when the belt is permeable to air, the vacuum maypull air through some or all of the openings in the belt. This mayprovide for more rapid and/or even heating or cooling of the belt 70.

[0028] The temperature modifying apparatus 12 may also be useful to helpremove the web 15 from the roll 30 without distorting the web 15 orotherwise negatively impacting the structure of the web 15. For example,if the temperature modifying apparatus 12 includes an air pervious beltand a vacuum, the apparatus may be configured such that the vacuum pullsthe web 15 from the roll 30. This may provide for a more gentle removalof the web 15 from the roll 30. (Although not wishing to be bound bytheory, it is believed that the vacuum can provide for better removalbecause it spreads the forces over a larger area of the web and thus,reduces localized stress concentrations. Further, a removal forcegenerally perpendicular to the machine direction and the plane of theweb can help reduce the machine direction forces otherwise needed tostrip the web from the roll.) This can be useful when the web 15 isglued or otherwise stuck to or has a tendency to stick to the roll 30,especially if the removal force is provided at the time when theadhesive is cooled or heated to be less tacky. Further, cooling of theweb 15 may increase its strength and allow for more aggressive removaloperations. Other means for improving removal of the web 15 from theroll 30 may include static electricity or coatings or materials thatprovide some affinity between the belt 70 and the web 15. In any case,it may be desirable to remove the web 15 from the roll, while the web 15is still in contact with the belt 70. Otherwise, the cooling or othercharacteristics of the belt 70 may be lost as the web 15 continues to bedisposed adjacent the surface of the roll beyond the contact region C.

[0029] Although the temperature modifying apparatus 12 of the presentinvention has been described in terms of a device including a beltrotating continuously about at least two rolls, the apparatus can bemodified to include different elements, if desired. For example, theapparatus 12 may include non-rotating bars in addition to or in place ofone or more of the rolls 50 and 60. The bars can be used to directand/or tension the belt 70. Further, the apparatus 12 may include a beltsupport to help keep the belt 70 from sagging and/or to help directand/or adjust the belt 70 against a surface, such as the surface 32 ofthe manufacturing roll 30. The apparatus 12 of the present inventioncould also be provided with belt tensioning and/or belt trackingsystems, as desired for a particular operation. In yet other embodimentsof the present invention, the temperature modifying apparatus 12 may beused to heat or cool the surface of manufacturing equipment other thanrolls, such as, for example, planar and curved moving and non-movingsurfaces, belts, shafts and the like.

[0030]FIG. 3 depicts an alternative embodiment of the present inventionwherein the temperature modification apparatus 112 includes a belt 170that is disposed adjacent at least a portion of manufacturing belt 130.Web 115 is shown to pass between the belt 170 and the manufacturing belt130, however, embodiments are contemplated wherein the material orarticle being manufactured or converted does not pass between thetemperature modifying apparatus 112 and the manufacturing belt 130. Inany case, as in the other embodiments described herein, the belt 170 ofthe temperature modifying apparatus 112 preferably heats or cools atleast a portion of the surface 132 of the manufacturing belt 130,typically in contact region C1 located between the point A1 where thebelt 170 first touches the manufacturing belt 130 during normaloperation and point B1 where the belt 170 last touches the manufacturingbelt 130. The temperature modifying apparatus 112 may also include meansfor facilitation the removal of the web 115 from the surface 132 of themanufacturing belt 130 such as those described herein with respect toother embodiments of the present invention.

Exemplary Embodiment

[0031] In one exemplary embodiment, the method and apparatus of thepresent invention may be used during the manufacture of a sheet materialthat includes a thin layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive in certainpredetermined locations, such as the food and storage wraps described indetail in commonly-assigned patents, namely, Hamilton et al., U.S. Pat.No. 5,662,758, entitled “Composite Material Releasably Sealable to aTarget Surface When Pressed Thereagainst and Method of Making”, Hamiltonet al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,607, entitled “Material Having A SubstanceProtected by Deformable Standoffs and Method of Making”, McGuire et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,235, entitled “Three-Dimensional, Nesting-ResistantSheet Materials and Method and Apparatus for Making Same”, and Hamiltonet al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,062, entitled “Improved Storage WrapMaterials”, and McGuire et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,918, entitled “HighSpeed Embossing and Adhesive Printing Process and Apparatus, andHamilton et al. U.S. Ser. No. 10/003,900, filed Oct. 25, 2001 entitled“Storage Wrap Material”, and Toussant et al., U.S. Serial No. unknown,filed Oct. 25, 2001 entitled “High Speed Embossing and Adhesive PrintingProcess and Apparatus”.

[0032] For such applications, it has been found to be advantageous toinclude the temperature modifying apparatus 12 of the present inventionto help increase the speed and reliability of the process. Specifically,as described in more detail below, adhesive is applied to a film bymeans of a roll. The method and apparatus of the present invention canbe employed to help cool, solidify and/or deactivate the adhesive suchthat the adhesive coated film can be more easily removed from theadhesive application roll.

[0033]FIG. 2 illustrates in schematic form, a high speed embossingprocess and high speed embossing apparatus 10 including the temperaturemodifying apparatus 12 of the present invention. (Although this exampleis described in terms of an embossed web, the present invention isequally applicable to non-embossed webs.) The high speed embossingapparatus 10 comprises first and second embossing rolls 20 and 30. Thefirst and second embossing rolls 20 and 30 have a complementary (i.e.,matched) embossing pattern which interlocks to emboss the pattern onto aweb 15 of material passed therebetween. The embossing roll provided withpockets and raised lands is generally referred to as the femaleembossing roll. The embossing roll with raised nubs and recessed landsis generally referred to as the male embossing roll. It will beunderstood that either the first or second embossing roll 20 and 30 canbe the male or female roll. As a non-limiting example, if the firstembossing roll 20 is determined to be the female roll, then the secondembossing roll 30 should be the male roll. It may be preferred that oneof the embossing rolls have a release material, such as a silicone-basedor a fluorocarbon-based material (i.e. FEP), disposed thereon. Therelease material generally has a high release characteristic tofacilitate removal of the embossed final product from the embossingroll.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the high speed embossing apparatus 10 mayfurther include an adhesive application roll 40 (having axis 44) thatsupplies a metered amount of adhesive 46 to the second embossing roll 30from an adhesive supply. The surface 42 of the adhesive application roll40 is preferably conformable to the surface 32 of the second embossingroll 30. Alternatively, the surface 32 of the second embossing roll 30may be conformable to the surface 42 of the adhesive application roll40. This helps ensure that the entire surface of the embossing roll 30is coated with the adhesive 46. More specifically, with reference toFIG. 2, an adhesive 46 is extruded onto the surface 42 of the adhesiveapplication roll 40 via a slot die 48. However, it would be known to oneof skill in the art that other methods to supply an adhesive 40 to theadhesive application roll 40 can be used. Once the adhesive is appliedto the adhesive application roll 40, it is transferred by contact to thesurface 32 of the second embossing roll 30.

[0035] In one preferred embodiment, adhesive 46 is applied only to theland areas of the second embossing roll 30. This can be accomplished bycarefully controlling the interaction between second embossing roll 30and the adhesive application roll 40 so that the adhesive applicationroll 40 does not press the adhesive 46 into the recesses around orpockets between the lands of second embossing roll 30. For this reason,it may be desirable for the second embossing roll 30 and the adhesiveapplication roll 40 to have matched surface speeds. Deposition ofadhesive 40 exclusively onto the lands of the second embossing roll 30prevents adhesive 40 from being transferred onto the non-recessedregions of the embossments in the finished embossed adhesive coated web15.

[0036] For exemplary purposes only, adhesive application roll 40 can bea rubber coated steel roll. The nip between adhesive application roll 40and the second embossing roll 30 may be controlled in the machinedirection with precision wedge blocks. It is believed that a rubbercoating can be utilized to both protect the coating on the secondembossing roll 30 from damage and also allow the adhesive applicationroll 40 to be very lightly pressed against the second embossing roll 30so the deflection of the rubber compensates for the actual runout of thesecond embossing roll 30 and the adhesive application roll 40.Alternatively, the second embossing roll 30 may exhibit conformablecharacteristics and the adhesive application roll 40 may exhibitnon-conformable characteristics. This can help the adhesive 40 to beapplied evenly on the lands of second embossing roll 30. However, itwould be known to one of skill in the art that either the secondembossing roll 30 or the adhesive application roll 40 can be anyarrangement of conformable/non-conformable as long as the adhesive 46 isprovided in a topically efficacious manner.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, web 15 is directed into contact with thesurface 22 of the first embossing roll 20 (having axis 24).Alternatively, web 15 is directed into contact with the surface 32 ofthe first embossing roll 30 (having axis 34). The web 15 is thenembossed between the nip of the first embossing roll 20 and the secondembossing roll 30, shown in FIG. 2 as nip E. The embossed web 15 isadhered to the surface 32 of the second embossing roll 30 as the roll 30rotates from the nip E to the contact region C. The surface 32 of thesecond embossing roll 30 preferably has release characteristics. Thatis, it is configured or treated to allow the adhesive 46 to stick to theweb 15 and not the surface of the roll 30 when the web 15 is removedfrom the roll 30. The release characteristics and the adhesiveproperties should be carefully balanced to provide the best combinationof adhesion and release. An exemplary release characteristic would be acoating which allows a hot (typically about 250-350° F. (121-177° C.))adhesive to transfer to the second embossing roll 30 and yet allows theembossed adhesive coated web 15 to release from the second embossingroll 30 at a lower temperature. If the release characteristic promotestoo little adhesion, the adhesive will not transfer from the adhesiveapplication roll 40 to the second embossing roll 30. However, if therelease characteristic promotes too much adhesion, the final adhesivecoated web 15 may not be able to be removed from the surface 32 of thesecond embossing roll 30 without tearing, stretching or otherwisedeforming the web of sheet material 15.

[0038] In one exemplary embodiment, in order to improve adhesivetransfer from the adhesive application roll 40 to the second embossingroll 30, the surface 32 of the embossing roll 30 is heated. The surfacemay be heated to any desired temperature, but it has been found that forthe embodiment described herein, a temperature of between about 250° F.and about 350° F. (about 121° C. to about 177° C.) works well. Any typeof heater known to those of skill in the art can be used to heat theembossing roll 30, including heaters that produce heat by means ofradiation, conduction, convection and combinations thereof. In oneembodiment, as is described in more detail below, a temperaturemodifying apparatus 12 of the type described herein may be used to heatthe surface 32 of the roll. Once the adhesive 46 is applied to the web15, the interface between the adhesive 46 and the second embossing roll30 is preferably cooled by the temperature modifying apparatus 12 of thepresent invention to allow for easier and more effective removal of theadhesively coated web 15 from the roll 30. Thus, in a preferredembodiment, the temperature of the interface between the web 15 and thesurface 32 of second embossing roll 30 is lower in the region where thebelt 70 contacts the second embossing roll 30 than the temperature ofthe interface between the adhesive 46 and the surface 32 of secondembossing roll 30 at the glue transfer nip G. In sum, a temperaturedifferential should exist between the point of adhesive pick-up, gluetransfer nip G, and the point where the embossed adhesive coated web 15is removed from the second embossing roll 30. In one preferredembodiment, it has been found that it is preferable that the interfacebetween the web 15 and the surface 32 of the roll 30 in the contactregion C be less than about 180° F. (about 82° C.), more preferably lessthan about 140° F. (about 60° C.) or less than about 100° F. (about 38°C.). In other embodiments, it may be desirable to get the temperature ofthe web 15 to be within a certain range in the contact region C. Forexample, it may be desirable for the temperature of the web 15 to beless than about 100° F. (about 38° C.) by the time the web 15 is removedfrom the roll. However, the exact temperature of the web 15 and/or theexact temperature at each of the regions and the desired temperaturedifferential will vary depending on the adhesive and/or film used.

[0039] In one alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a temperaturemodifying apparatus 12A of the type described herein can be locatedadjacent the second embossing roll 30 between the point B where the web15 is removed from the roll 30 and point G where the glue is applied tothe second embossing roll 30. The belt 70A of the apparatus 12A can beheated to a temperature above the temperature of the surface 32 of theroll 30 such that the belt 70 heats the surface 32 of the roll 30 to atemperature suitable for the adhesive 46 to transfer from the adhesiveapplication roll 40 to the second embossing roll 32. In suchembodiments, it may be desirable to cool the second embossing roll 30internally, by means of the temperature modifying apparatus 12 of thepresent invention or by any other cooling means or combination ofcooling means to failitate removeal of the adhesively coated web 15 fromthe second embossing roll 30 at point B.

[0040] While particular embodiments and/or individual features of thepresent invention have been illustrated and described, it would beobvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes andmodifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Further, it should be apparent that all combinations ofsuch embodiments and features are possible and can result in preferredexecutions of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intendedto cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope ofthis invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for aiding the removal of anadhesively coated web from a surface of a rotating roll at a firsttemperature, the apparatus comprising: a moveable belt disposed about atleast a portion of the surface of the roll defining a contact region,the belt having a second temperature that is different from the firsttemperature such that as the web passes between the surface of the rolland the belt, the adhesively coated web is cooled to third temperaturethat is different from the first temperature.
 2. The apparatus of claim1 wherein the belt is air permeable.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 furtherincluding a means for cooling the belt.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1further including a vacuum plenum disposed adjacent at least a portionof the belt.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the vacuum plenum coolsthe belt by passing air over at least a portion of the belt.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the vacuum plenum provides a vacuum thatcan be used to help remove a web that is passed between the belt and theroll from the surface of the roll.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe contact region is at least about 10 degrees of the surface of theroll.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the roll has a first width andthe belt has a second with that is less than the first width.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the difference between the firsttemperature and the second temperature is at least about 28° C.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the belt includes one or more of thefollowing: steel, alloys of steel, Aluminum, alloys of Aluminum,stainless steel, or alloys of stainless steel.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the belt includes a filler including one or more of thefollowing: alumina, limestone, silica, gypsum, metals or metal oxides inpowder or filament form.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fillerhas a heat capacity of at least about 0.09 cal/gm ^(o)C.